Obvious
by LoveableTurtle
Summary: Everyone except Austin and Ally themselves knew that they were in love. After all, it was always kind of obvious. But Ally is with Dallas, and her and Austin are just friends...or are they?


**Hey guys! I hope you like this story, I don;t really write one-shots much but I had this idea bouncing around for a while and I didn't think it was enough for a multi chap but as you can see its a pretty long one-shot, so I hope you like it! xx if you do, please check out my other A&A fic, Little Sister, if you havent already! It's almost finished, but there are almost forty chapters! Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don;t own Austin and Ally :(**

**Obvious**

It was obvious that Austin and Ally were in love. Just like it was obvious that Ally loved pickles, and that Austin liked Pancakes. Everyone knew it. Everyone but Austin and Ally, of course. They always insisted that they were friends. Just friends. Always there for each other, always together. But never _together. _That was just how it was, ever since they first met, when Austin decided to play the drums with corndogs. Even Dez knew they loved each other, and we all know that Dez was usually pretty slow to figure things out.

So no-one was surprised when it was Austin that Ally called when Dallas stood her up for the first time. She sat outside that restaurant for three whole hours, ignoring the pitying looks and often scornful glares from passers-by. Eventually she had had enough, and obviously, Austin was the first person she called. He was in the middle of a Halo marathon with Dez, but didn't think twice about shrugging on his jacket and practically running out of his house and down the street to the restaurant.

"Ally? Are you okay?" he asked her softly as he walked over. She nodded silently, getting to her feet. He knew she was lying, so he hugged her. And she broke down. That was the first time he saw her cry. Well, he'd seen he cry a little when they watched Titanic 3D, but he had never seen her cry like this. And it broke his heart to see her like that. He didn't know what to do, so he did nothing. He just stood there and let her cry, rubbing her back comfortingly. And obviously, that was exactly the right thing to do.

"I'm sorry Austin. I've ruined your shirt." She sniffled. He looked down to see her looking up at him, eyes wide and apologetic. He chuckled. Typical Ally. She had just had her heart broken for the first time and had spent the last half an hour crying into his shirt, and the first thing she did was apologise to him.

"No problem. I never liked this shirt anyway." He shrugged. Ally knew it was his favourite shirt, a dark blue Hollister one that he saved up for for three months. But she said nothing. Austin was just that kind of guy. He would rather lie than see Ally hurt any more.

"Okay. Can we go back to your place? I don't want to be alone right now." She sniffled. He nodded, wrapping his arm around her waist. They walked back to his apartment in silence, only stopping once when the heel of Ally's shoe broke. She laughed cynically.

"Oh, this night just gets better and better. These are my best shoes." She sighed. She didn't have the energy to be too upset. Austin bent down and before she knew what he was doing, he snapped the heel off the other one too. She frowned at him, wondering what he was thinking.

"It'll be easier to walk if they're the same." He said. She took a few steps and grinned; he was right. Austin always managed to make a bad situation just that teeny bit easier to handle. When they got back to Austin's place his mom took one look at eh two of them and grabbed her coat.

"Dez! Come down, I'm taking you home!" she called up to him. Dez groaned loudly, running down the stairs, but realisation dawned when he saw Ally and he left without protest. Austin took Ally's jacket and hung it up in the cupboard, then led her up the stairs into his room. Ally had spent so much time in his room it was like a second bedroom to her. She flopped down on his bed and started crying again. Austin was surprised that she had any tears left in her, but nonetheless he sat next to her and rubbed her back soothingly until she fell asleep. His mom came in to check on them, and smiled at the sight of them both fast asleep, Ally curled into his side, his arm around her protectively.

She called Ally's mom and told her she was staying the night. Ally's mom didn't think twice about it. Ally had stayed the night countless times. They were, after all, best friends. Maybe it should have been awkward, since they were both sixteen. But it never was.

And no-one was surprised when, almost exactly a year later, it was Austin she called to pick her up when she had a fight with Dallas, her boyfriend of almost eleven months, at the holiday resort they were staying at for the weekend with a few of Dallas's friends. She hadn't really wanted to go. The only person she knew was Dallas. But he had guilt-tripped her into it.

They had had the biggest fight they had ever had. Ally felt homesick and hadn't wanted to go out. Dallas had gotten mad, going on about how he had been nice enough to bring her on holiday and she wouldn't even o anything fun. She then started yelling back about how she hadn't even wanted to come, and he called her some bad words and walked out. She would have stayed, but she didn't know anyone else. She didn't want to spend the rest of the weekend alone, so obviously she called Austin. He was in the middle of a shift at the movie theatre he was working at. He told his boos something had come up, that he had to go. His boss said that he could go, but if he did he was fired. Obviously, Austin went.

"Ally? What happened?" he asked her as he climbed out of the car. She wrapped her arms around him and cried her eyes out again. He did what he had done the last time; let her cry it out. Then he opened the door for her to get in and threw her case in the trunk. She was smiling at him when he got back in the car, but he could see the sadness in her eyes.

"Dallas and I...we had a fight. I don't know anyone else we were with, and I didn't want it to be awkward." She explained, sighing. Austin nodded in understanding, hiding the anger. He hated Dallas, ever since the time he stood her up on their first date. He had known she was making a mistake when she forgave him and gave him a second chance not long after. But he didn't say anything. She was so happy when she told him. He didn't want to ruin that. He had thought maybe things would be okay after they had dated this long without incident. Apparently not.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked her as they approached their home. She didn't reply. He looked over, to see that she was fast asleep. He smiled, shaking his head. He never hated Dallas more than he did right then. She looked so sweet and innocent in that moment. He hated Dallas for hurting her. He didn't understand why any guy would want to hurt her. He pulled up outside his house and picked her up, carrying her inside. She woke up in the middle of the night, once again curled up beside him on his bed. He was awake, stroking her hair, watching her.

"You feeling better?" he asked her softly. She nodded.

"Were you at work when I called you?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, but it was okay." He lied. She could tell he was lying. She was the only person he knew that could always see right through him.

"You were fired, weren't you?" she asked him, sighing. He smiled sadly, nodding.

"It's okay though. I can get another job." He said. She knew how long it had taken for him to get this job. No-one was hiring lately. Maybe he would get lucky, but she doubted it. He had given up his job for her. And he was saving up for a car. She knew all this, but she said nothing. She didn't want to acknowledge it. The next day, Austin woke up to find Ally was gone. He didn't have to look far. She was in the bathroom, talking on the phone. He didn't eavesdrop; he knew she would tell him who and what it was. Sure enough, she came out after a minute, grinning.

"What was that about?" he asked her, glad to see her happy again.

"That was Dallas. He said he was sorry, that he felt so terrible this morning when he woke up and I wasn't there. And he said he loved me, Austin!" she squealed. He smiled because she was happy. He even happy-danced with her. Even though, on the inside, he was shouting, screaming at her to dump him, to get rid of him for good. He wasn't good enough for her. But then again, in Austin's opinion, no-one was good enough for Ally.

And no-one was surprised when, not long later, Ally's grandma died and Austin was the first person she called. He found out about it from his mom, and was already on his way to her place when she called. He told her he was almost there, and she hung up. She didn't even say a word to him. When he got there, Ally's mom and dad were in the kitchen, talking quietly. They looked at him when he walked in, smiled warmly, and gestured towards the stairs, telling him to go on up. He waved at them and ran up the stairs and into Ally's room. She was sat on the bed, staring at a spot on the wall. She wasn't crying, she was just staring at the wall.

"Ally?" he said her name questioningly. She didn't look at him, but she spoke.

"She used to sing to me, when I was little. I used to sleep over at her house sometimes, and she would lie there with me until I fell asleep, singing this little song.

_You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me happy _

_When skies are grey_

_You'll never know dear_

_How much I love you_

_So please don't take_

_My sunshine away_

She sang softly, quietly, but in a voice so sweet and beautiful that he wished she hadn't stopped. He walked over to the bed and sat beside her, placing his arm around her shoulder gently. She leant into him, finally letting the tears fall. He wrapped his other arm around her and let her sob into his shirt silently. When she fell asleep he laid her down in her bed and pulled the covers over her. He then lay down next to her, on top of the covers, and closed his eyes.

The next day, Trish and Dallas came over. Ally's parents sent them upstairs to see her, and they walked into her bedroom to see Austin with his arm draped over her. She was still under the covers, but it was enough to make Dallas angry.

"What the fuck is this?" he shouted. Austin and Ally both awoke with a start. Ally looked from herself to Austin, them back to Dallas.

"What?" she asked him.

"What do you think? I come in here to comfort my girlfriend after her grandma dies and I find her in bed with another guy!" he yelled. Ally's parents ran up the stairs and stood in the doorway, not sure whether or not to intervene.

"What? Dallas, it's just Austin. He's my best friend, that's all. He spent the night with me because I was upset because my grandma died." She explained, once again bursting into tears. Austin leant over and pulled her into a hug. Dallas just watched, helpless, knowing he had gone too far but too proud to admit he was wrong. Eventually he just turned around and left without a word. Trish went back downstairs with Ally's parents, all three of them knowing that it was best to just leave her with Austin until she calmed down a little.

Austin always did these things without thinking. It was second nature to him. When Ally was upset, he would stop at nothing to make her happy again. He hated Dallas, but he never let Ally know about his hatred. He knew that if he did, she would feel like she had to choose between him and Dallas. He would never make her choose, but he knew she would feel like she had to. And he also knew she would choose him. He wasn't being egotistical, he just knew it. If she was forced to choose between him and Dallas, she would choose him. Just like he knew that if he was forced to choose between her and pretty much anyone else on the planet, he would choose her.

It was a long time before he realised that he was in love with her. And when he did, it wasn't like in the movies. If life was a movie, he would have been talking to her one day and she would have just looked so perfect, so beautiful, that he wouldn't have been able to fight it anymore and he would have had to kiss her, and it would be all happily ever after.

But life isn't a movie, and things didn't work like that. He was walking home from Dez's house one day when he saw Ally walking with Dallas. Obviously, they had made up. They always did. Only this time, she seemed more cautious. He was about to go over to them, when Dallas whispered something in her ear and she laughed. Austin always loved her laugh. She always hated her laugh, always thought it was so embarrassing. He had told her countless times that it was fine, but she never got over it. He froze when he saw her look at him like he was some sort of God, like she was really in love with him. And he realised that he wanted her to look at him like that. And when she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lips quickly, he realised that he wanted her to kiss him like that. Sighing, he took a right turn and took the long way home.

Austin and Ally were in the same year at school. So they were graduating at the same time. And graduation year only means one thing to most of the school population; prom. Dallas asked Ally to prom three weeks before the event, only two days after it was announced. He didn't make a big deal out of it, just said to her one day; 'so, are we going to prom together?'. She was a little disappointed, but she agreed anyway. At the end of the day, she was going to prom with her kind, gorgeous boyfriend, who she loved.

Ally and Trish went dress shopping together the day after Dallas asked her. Trish was going solo, planning to make all the guys fall in love with her as she danced around the hall. Ally laughed as Trish told her the plan, but nodded and agreed that it was definitely going to work. Once they had bought the dressed Trish went home, but Ally went to Austin's house. She didn't even knock, just walked right in. She smiled at his mom and went straight up to his room. He was on the bed, shirtless, throwing a ball up and catching it. He smiled when he saw her, rolling his eyes.

"What if I was changing?" he said, sitting up and tossing the ball across the room. She smiled.

"I've seen it all before, you know." She reminded him. He blushed.

"Yeah, when we were six. Things are kind of…different, now." He said. She blushed too at that, inwardly scolding herself for saying something so stupid. They soon forgot about it, though.

"Whatever. You weren't changing, so it's okay. I'll knock in future." She pointed out. Austin couldn't help but think that he wouldn't mind if she walked in on hi changing. He also couldn't help imagining what it would be like to walk in on her changing… shaking his head, he looked back at her.

"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked. He had zoned out for a minute or two. She scowled, rolling her eyes, but started again.

"Dallas asked me to prom yesterday, and Trish and I spent all day searching for the perfect dress. It took a while, but I think I found it. I wanted to know what you thought." She said. He smiled, even though it hurt when she talked about Dallas. He just wished it could be him she was going to prom with, him who she was trying to impress.

"Are you going to put it on? You can use the bathroom." He said. She nodded, and then shrugged.

"I don't care. We're friends, right?" she asked him. He didn't have time to comprehend what she was saying before she had yanked her shirt over her head and was stood there in just her jeans and a bra. He gulped, staring for a moment, before snapping out of it and turning away. She laughed.

"You didn't have to look away. But thanks for the thought." She chuckled. He tried to calm his breathing enough to answer her.

"No problem." He replied. He listened to the sound of her unzipping her jeans and then the dress bag, and the gentle swish of fabric as she pulled the dress over her head.

"Erm, Austin? A little help?" she squeaked. He turned around to see her arms above her head, tangled up in the many layers of pink fabric that made up her prom dress. He took a deep breath, then approached her. She was wearing nothing but a matching set of lacy pink underwear. He struggled to keep his breathing under control. It was made even more awkward by the fact that he was shirtless, although thankfully Austin seemed to be the only one who felt the awkwardness. He managed to help her pull the dress down her body, then stepped back to let her fix it so it sat right. When she was done she smiled, turning around for him to see it from every angle.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

"I think…you're perfect." He breathed. She frowned.

"Huh?"

"I mean it's perfect. The dress. The dress is perfect. Dallas will love it." He said sourly. She picked up on the bitterness and frowned again.

"What's up with you? You got some sort of beef with Dallas?" she asked. He shrugged, knowing that if he lied she would be able to tell. He started to turn away, but she ran forwards and put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"Tell me. What do you have against Dallas?" she asked sternly. He groaned.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter."

"There's obviously something. Tell me, Austin!"

"I just don't like the guy, Ally. That's it." He sighed.

"Why not?" Ally was nothing if not persistent.

"Can you just forget about it?" he sighed, walking over to sit on his bed. She followed him, sitting down beside him.

"No, I can't. I want to know why my bestest best friend in the entire world doesn't like my boyfriend." She said softly. He could tell she was hurt, and confused, so he caved.

"It's just…the amount of times he's hurt you, Ally. You may not remember too well, but I do. I remember every time I've had to pick you up or go over to your house and comfort you because of something he said, or did, or didn't say, or didn't do. And I can't help but feel like he's going to hurt you again." He admitted. Ally just sat there, shocked. Eventually he turned to look at her, and saw there were tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Ally, I didn't mean to make you cry!" he said, rubbing her shoulder. She pulled away, glaring at him. He was shocked.

"How dare you? How dare you say that my boyfriend will hurt me again? Who do you think you are? All those things, they're in the past. I had forgotten about them, until now!" she yelled, crying. He was shocked that she was so angry, but all the anger at her, and at Dallas, that had been building up over all this time just spilled over, and he yelled back.

"Had you really? Or are you just saying that because you don't want to accept the fact that Dallas isn't the perfect, faultless guy you thought he was?"

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! You don't know anything!"

"I know that he isn't good enough for you, Ally! He will never be good enough for you! You deserve a guy who loves you just as much as you love him. A guy who will treat you right!"

"And who are you to say that Dallas isn't that guy?"

"I'm the one who has to comfort you every time he makes you cry, Ally! The first time I ever saw you cry was because of him. And every time since then! When will you understand that he's not good enough for you?"

"Just shut up, Austin! You don't know anything. I love Dallas, and he loves me."

"Whatever." He sighed, all the anger suddenly gone. He collapsed onto his bed, out of breath. There was silence for a minute, then Ally turned and ran out of his bedroom and down the stairs. Austin knew he had to follow her.

"Ally! Ally wait!" he called. He caught her halfway down the driveway. Luckily, his mom ahd left for work.

"What? Are you going to apologise?" she asked, whirling around.

"No, I'm not, because I'm not sorry. I meant every word I said. But I don't want to lose you. You're my best friend."

"Well, I thought you were mine, but apparently not." She yelled.

"I am, Ally!" he yelled back.

"Then why are you trying to make me dump my boyfriend?"

"I'm not, I just-you know what? Fine. Whatever. Stay with Dallas. Go running back to him. I don't care. But remember this. Next time he breaks your heart, you won't have my shoulder to cry on." He yelled, then turned around and stomped back inside his house, leaving a very surprised Ally stood in his driveway.

Three weeks later, on prom night, Austin was lying on his bed, alone. He was thinking about Ally, about her going to prom with Dallas. And about what would happen after prom. The whole 'prom night' thing. It made him feel physically sick. He jumped when his phone went off, breaking the silence. It was the ringtone he had set specifically for Ally. He ignored it. About ten minutes later it rang again. It rang five times before stopping completely. He had one message. Sighing, he called his answerphone. He wondered what was so important she would ring him that much. He had expected to never hear from her again. They had, after all, never fought before. Especially not like that.

_Hey, Austin? I just called to say I'm sorry. And that you were right. I know you'll probably never speak to me again, but I wanted to let you know that I was only mad because I knew you were right. Prom is tonight. We agreed that I would come to his place at seven, but I was ready early so I got there at half six. He was making out with another girl. On the doorstep, for the whole world to see. I just turned around and went home. I know you said you wouldn't be there this time, but if you get this, please? This one last time. Then I'll leave you alone for good. I just need my knight in shining armour one last time. Oh, and one more thing. Austin? I think I l-_

The recording stopped then. She must have run out of time. He knew what he was going to do. Even before she asked, he knew he was going to go back on his word. He knew he was going to go over to her house. He knew he was going to hold her close until she stopped crying. He knew he was going to sleep beside her. And he knew he would tell her that she didn't have to leave him alone. Their fight was over. And even if she did get back together with Dallas, he would still be there. Because he loved her, and that's what people do when they're in love. They take care of the person they love.

When he got to Ally's house he walked right in. Her parents smiled, relieved, at him. He knew Ally would have told them about the fight. But they went straight back to the normal routine of siling and sending him upstairs like nothing had happened. Because it was pretty much as if nothing had happened. When he got into her bedroom, he was surprised to see that she was sat at her vanity table, wiping the make-up off her face calmly.

"Ally? Are you okay?" he asked.

"You know what? I'm fine! I mean, I've decide I'm done with Dallas, completely. And I've never felt better." She said disbelievingly. Austin grinned. She stood up and ran over to him. He met her halfway.

"I'm glad you're okay. But I thought you needed your knight in shining armour? You sounded so upset on the phone." He said. She bit her lip guiltily.

"I might have put it on a little to get you over here. There's something I wanted to tell you, something I didn't want our friendship to end without me telling you." She said softly.

"What is it?" he asked her. She was looking at the ground, so he placed his fingers under her chin and gently pulled her chin up so he was looking into her eyes.

"I love you, Austin." She breathed. He froze. He had imagined this moment, dreamt of it. But he had never expected it to actually happen. So he said the stupidest thing he possibly could have said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." She said, laughing.

"Good." He said, smiling.

"Good? Why good?"

"Because I love you too." He replied, smiling, before leaning down to kiss her. No-one was surprised that they ended up together. No-one was surprised when they finally realised they were in love. Because, after all, it was kinda obvious…

**Hope you liked it! Please review! :D**


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